Stimulator Unit for Magnetic Nerve Stimulation, United Kingdom, 1998

Credits: National Railway Museum

Doctors use this machine to project magnetic fields deep inside the brain or to nerves elsewhere in the body. By stimulating nerves, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may alleviate depression and conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It also assesses ‘motor control’ pathways in the body. The technique for painless nerve stimulation was developed in the 1980s at the University of Sheffield, England. The unit was manufactured by The Magstim Company Limited in Wales.